Taking Care of Yourself

My stove is in pieces all over the kitchen. Burners removed and scattered on the counter, drip pans soaking in the sink, the rings are stacked, waiting for an SOS pad to shine them up. No, my stove isn't broken. In fact, it just finished a hard day's work and is overdue for an extreme cleanover.

Next week I start my teaching schedule at the college, which means I leave the house at 8:00 AM and rarely return before 8:00 PM. Consequently, the last thing I am interested in is cooking dinner. Eating dinner, yes, but often find myself eating a peanut butter sandwich. At the price of peanut butter, that is no longer an option. That, and I love to cook prompted me to take better care of myself by having a marathon cooking day once a month.

As a caregiver, as well as working full time, it is essential to have meals ready at the end of a long day that are easy to heat up on the stove or pop into the microwave. No need to sacrifice healthy for fast. Leftovers can be a solution to the late night temptation to grab the first thing in the refrigerator or the cookie jar. Freeze portions of your favorite foods in serving sizes, quick to thaw, easy to heat. Making batches of all in one meals like soups, casseroles or stews make dinner a matter of eating a balanced meal with less prep, doable.

I am an advocate of eating seasonal fruits and vegies. Don't let the date on the calendar stop you from enjoying these throughout the year. Freeze them for later. You can use them in soups or casseroles just as if they were picked from your garden or produce market. Because they are frozen at the peak of freshness, they maintain their health quotient and are as nutritious as fresh.

Invite a friend over and warm up the belly and the kitchen with hearty pots filled with casseroles and soups. While catching up on your lives, you support the care and feeding of each other. Have a girls night out and everyone brings a meal to be split between the party goers.

Meal assembly industries host gatherings for just this purpose. For two hours of your time and a fee you assemble meals. The company provides recipes, pre-prepared ingredients, and cooking facilities. You walk out with 12 entrees, ready to take home, freeze, and bake at your leisure. Not a bad deal if you are cooking challenged or perhaps just looking for a chef's night out if your caregiving duties include meal preparation. 

However you put it together, the goal is to make meal time a joy rather than a chore. Add to that the knowledge that you have just done something nice for yourself. Eating healthy no longer has to be the last thing on your mind at the end of the day. It's already done. Bon Apetit!

A few of my favorite one pot meals - African peanut stew, zucchini casserole, vegie lasagna, risotto with asparagus, just about any soup.

Image: Flickr image by EraPhernalia Vintage